The Cloud City skyscraper gives us a glimpse into the future of urban highrises

A few days ago, we talked about how NASA had captured 8,000-year-old historical geoglyphs made by humans in the vast steppe plains of Kazakhstan. Well this time around, architects from the country have presented their vision for the future of humanity. To that end, designers from the Union of Architects of Kazakhstan have put forward the Cloud City skyscraper, an impressive concept that was shortlisted by the World Architecture Festival (WAF) in the category of Commercial Mixed-Use-Future Projects.

In terms of scope, the Cloud City is envisioned as a 65-story high building with multi-purpose credentials. But beyond just the size factor, it is the innovative design that really tickles our fancy. In that regard, the skyscraper conspicuously showcases its cloud-like volumes protruding affably from the core structure. Their functionality however is not just limited to striking visuals. These three-dimensional volumes account for different spatial purposes, ranging from housing, offices to hotels and shopping spaces.

And on closer inspection, one can identify the ‘voids’ interspersed within the cloud-shaped volumes of the building. These arrangements allow direct sunlight to be inducted inside the collective atrium space that conforms to the core area within the skyscraper. Simply put, the cloud-related bearing of the Cloud City is not confined to just symbolism; rather the shape of the concept mimics the porosity of actual clouds, thus allowing for spatial flexibility and light-induction techniques seldom seen in modern-day skyscrapers with complicated plans. This in turn leads to a collective scope that connects all the interior zones and yet transforms their volumetric impact into simple plans.